Men's Basketball

A Look Ahead at the 1998-1999 Lord Jeffs

 
A New Era in Lord Jeff Basketball is beginning with the 1998-1999 season. With the loss of five major impact players over the past two seasons and three this past season, new faces will need to step up to continue the tradition. The program has averaged over 20 wins a year for the past five seasons.
 
Leading the way in the 1998-99 campaign are senior captains Caith Chapman and Josh Anish. Chapman was the starting point guard for last years' 20-5 ECAC team after playing a pivotal role for the 1996-97 NCAA tournament squad. Josh Anish has really begun to come into his own and is described by Coach Hixon as the "best passing big man I have ever seen at this level." Joining the two captains are senior guard Chris Ingraham (Tucson, AZ) and 6'5" power forward Charles Field. Ingraham, an explosive player, had several big games last year and has the ability to score many points in a short time span. Field is a hard working "paint player" who will play a big role in shoring up "board" play this year.
 
Juniors Patrick Mulvey (Rye, NH), Hugh Quattlebaum (Andover, MA), and Peter Denby (Princeton, NJ) give the Jeffs three 6'3"+ athletic perimeter scoring players. Mulvey led the Jeffs in scoring on numerous occasions last year while Quattlebaum gives the team power and versatility, having played both guard and power forward last year. Junior Chris Smith will vie for the "4" spot having contributed big points during Pavelski's absence last year.
 
Sophomore rookie sensation Erik Kelly (Staples, MN) battled through an injury ridden first year but showed that he can shoot with the best. Brian Daoust (Dover, MA) came from the football field to give the Jeffs quality minutes at the point guard position. Abe Sexson (Athens, Greece) and Matt Rygler (Wilmington, DE) give the squad much needed size at 6'8" each and look to give the Jeffs solid minutes at the post.
 
Incoming freshmen Chris Keane (6'6"-Oradell, NJ), Paul Williams (6'5"-Franklin, MA), and Joe Tracy (6'6"-Shrewsbury, MA) give the Jeffs talent at power forward and will hopefully be future impact players. Patrick Taverna (6'4"-Clinton, NY) and Michael Proctor (6'0"-Vero Beach, FL) round out the freshman class and give the team perimeter strength for the future. The Jeffs are hopeful that the torch will be passed in a manner of reloading, not rebuilding and look forward to another successful campaign.
 

Amherst College Men's Basketball:

A Tradition of Excellence

 
Amherst College has always enjoyed an outstanding national reputation for its impressive academic tradition and educational standards. For the past nine years, U.S. News and World Report has ranked Amherst among the top-two liberal arts colleges in the nation, and Amherst's athletic teams have exhibited a similar quality against their New England Division III rivals.
 
With a tradition of strong programs, Amherst basketball teams have followed suit. Under the direction of Head Coach David Hixon, the Lord Jeffs have won six Little Three titles, earned 12 ECAC tournament invitations and two NCAA bids. They have consistently placed among the top-ranked teams in Division III New England in the past 10 years.
 
Five seasons ago, with the NESCAC presidents' approval of NCAA post-season competition, the Lord Jeffs (ranked No. 1 in New England) not only earned a tournament berth but advanced into the third round, the "Elite Eight", of the NCAA Tournament before losing to the eventual national champions. The Jeffs finished that season with a school-record 22 wins and only five losses, an achievement made more impressive by the fact that they had played 17 games on the road and only 10 at home. The Jeffs went on to win back-to-back ECAC Championships in 1995 and 1996, bringing Amherst's total to four ECAC Titles and tying the program with one other school for the most in New England. Amherst followed up in 1997 with its second invitation to the NCAA Tournament, where the Jeffs concluded their season in the Sweet Sixteen with a 21-5 record after shattering seven team and individual records during the course of the year.
 
This past season the Jeffs came out of the gate at 13-0 and a #3 ranking in the country only to finish 20-5 and earn another ECAC Tournament Bid. The squad earned victories over both Williams and Trinity (2 NCAA Bid teams).
 
Although the team graduates three starters, the Jeffs return 7 of their top 10 players. There is great optimism about returning to the NCAA Tournament.
 

Coach Dave Hixon

 
David Hixon (Amherst '75) enters his 22nd season as Amherst's winningest men's basketball coach with a 336-176 career record. After captaining the 1974-75 Lord Jeffs, Hixon was awarded the Hitchcock Fellowship, with which he coached football, basketball and track while earning an M.S. in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts. Hixon is also an assistant coach of the women's soccer team and an assistant athletic director. He and his wife Mandy (Amherst diving coach) have two sons, Matthew, 6, and Michael, 4.
 
Head Men's Basketball Coach: David Hixon '75
Address: Box 2230, Alumni Gymnasium
Amherst, MA 01002-5000
Phone: (413) 542-2069
1997-98 Record: 20-5, ECAC Semi-Finalist